Abstract
Infectious Diseases and Pathology of Reptiles is an excellent addition to the body of reference materials dedicated to reptiles. The book nicely reflects the many significant direct and indirect contributions of Dr. Elliot Jacobson. It contains materials from twelve contributing authors, each focusing on topics of their expertise. The content varies from introductory level anatomy to in-depth discussions of infectious conditions, pathogenesis, and diagnostics. The first chapter sets the stage for the text with an overview of biology, anatomy and histology. Descriptions have excellent quality gross and histologic photos for illustration. The systematic presentation will prove especially helpful to those learning the critical nuances of reptile anatomy and histology. Other chapters include overviews of immunology, inflammation, and hematology. These chapters are significantly expanded beyond any currently available texts presenting similar material. There are chapters dedicated to necropsy techniques, molecular, serologic, electronic microscopic investigations, and isolation of reptile pathogens. These chapters are designed to improve sample collection and to clarify the advantages and limitations of ancillary diagnostics. The chapter on electron microscopy brings together H & E photomicrographs with excellent EM images. The chapter contains both new images as well as many from Dr. Jacobson's prior publications. Infectious diseases are presented in chapters dedicated to viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. These chapters reflect the current state of knowledge for each etiologic class as it relates to disease in various reptilians.
As with any book, this text has both strengths and weaknesses. It clearly presents infectious reptile diseases and mechanisms for investigating these conditions. The organization of the book allows for readers of various knowledge levels. Because of this, both students and reptile pathologists will find this book to contain valuable material. Each chapter contributes to the diagnosis of infectious diseases in reptiles from various perspectives and presents well-referenced, scientific information with abundant, high quality figures. Several modifications to the layout of the figures would enhance the readability of the text. Figure plates have a non-traditional organizational structure and are relegated to the ends of chapters. This complicates the illustration of sections and disrupts the flow of reading. This is compounded in the chapter on molecular diagnostics where diagrams are wrapped into the text, but figures are not. Lastly, the scope of the book is limited to infectious diseases. This text should not be considered a complete resource for reptile pathology.
The current comprehensive text for reptile medicine is Doug Mader's Reptile Medicine and Surgery, second edition. That text is very clinically oriented. Dr. Jacobson's new book has clinical information, along with pathology and diagnostic information. This diversity of information focused on infectious diseases makes this book an excellent resource. These two texts should now sit side-by-side on the shelves of those working in reptile medicine or pathology. This book will prove informative and beneficial for students, residents, clinicians and pathologists working with reptiles.